Hygrothermal, mechanical and durability assessment of vegetable concrete mixes made with Alfa fibers for structural and thermal insulating applications

Abstract

This paper focuses on developing suitable concrete composites incorporating Alfa fibers (AF) for use in insulation and structural applications. Five formulations were prepared using AF weight ratios ranging from 0 to 10 wt%. The mixtures’ performance was assessed in terms of thermal insulation, compressive and flexural strengths, abrasion, moisture sorption, and buffering capacities. The results show that increasing AF contents improve concrete's thermal insulation and sorption capacities while reducing its mechanical strengths. Whereas the durability tests highlight the reinforcement character of AF, revealing that an incorporation range of 0–5 wt% improves the abrasion resistance. Formulations with 5 wt% and 10 wt% AF resulted in vegetable concretes with an average compressive strength of 3.78–0.6 MPa, and a thermal conductivity value of 0.46–0.19 W/mK, respectively. Moreover, MBV tests showed that both mixtures are classified as “EXCELLENT” moisture regulators; therefore, they are appropriate as structural and insulating building materials with improved hygrothermal properties.